Should be interesting to see what happens. Dell made a name for themselves building cheap, not-so-sexy, reliable computers (they were the most reliable mass-market Windows machines to be found in the late 90’s, IMHO).

My guess is they’ll do the same thing with this. Thing is, I’m not sure I want a phone in my pocket that better resembles WWII surplus equipment. I can see the marketing slogan now: “Big, Bulky, and it works!” Oh wait, didn’t they use that with their laptops in the 90s?

Dell could see some success with this in its PC stronghold, Enterprise. Android is levels of magnitude better than Windows Mobile, and it will be hard for Dell to mess this up, so to speak.

But, I don’t think that Dell is going to make a standout product, either. That said, it appears as if it’s being entirely outsourced in the first place, so Dell isn’t really going to be “making” it at all.

To sum up: Dell’s success or failure with this effort is likely to be a direct reflection of Android’s successes and failures, leaving Dell a bit player in that piece of Android’s piece of the smartphone pie.

My Jedi instincts tell me Dell will hit a home run with its Android phone in the same way it did with the Dell DJ. The product will work, but it won’t be as sleek, easy to use or cool as Apple’s products, and consumers will lose interest quickly.

Dave’s “big, bulky, and it works” line sums it up. I’m OK with that for my toaster, but not for my smartphone. I want small, sleek, and it works great.

According to androidlib.com, there are over 13,000 applications available for the Android platform.

Thanks, daemon. I should have checked the current numbers before publishing this piece! The article was updated accordingly.